Markets surge 1% as banking stocks shine

The Indian benchmark indices rebounded, aided by an upbeat in US tech quarter earnings and a drop in US 10-year yield. Bank Nifty outperformed, driven by its strong performance in Q4. Easing Middle East tensions coupled with stable earnings, are expected to maintain positive market sentiment - Vinod Nair, Head (Research), Geojit Financial Services

Mumbai: Benchmark BSE Sensex rebounded sharply by 941 points, while NSE Nifty closed above the 22,600 level on Monday on the back of buying in banking and infra shares and a rally in global markets.

The 30-share BSE Sensex jumped 941.12 points or 1.28 per cent to settle at 74,671.28. As many as 26 Sensex shares closed in the green, while four declined. During the day, Sensex zoomed 990.99 points or 1.34 per cent to a high of 74,721.15. The NSE Nifty soared by 223.45 points or 1 per cent to close at 22,643.40 with 32 of its constituents advancing and 18 settling lower.

“The Indian benchmark indexes rebounded, aided by an upbeat in US tech quarter earnings and a drop in US 10-year yield. Domestically, the Bank Nifty outperformed, driven by its strong performance in the fourth quarter. Easing Middle East tensions, coupled with stable earnings, are expected to maintain positive market sentiment,” said Vinod Nair, head (research), Geojit Financial Services.

“Market started the week on a strong note and gained a percent, in continuation of the prevailing trend. Favourable global cues combined with noticeable traction in banking majors aided a positive start, which further strengthened as the day progressed,” said Ajit Mishra, SV-P ( research), Religare Broking Ltd.

In the broader market, the BSE midcap gauge jumped 0.79 per cent and smallcap index advanced 0.07 per cent. Among the indices, bankex jumped 2.70 per cent, financial services by 1.81 per cent), utilities 1.12 per cent, power by 0.90 per cent and energy by 0.79 per cent. Realty and services were the laggards. A total of 2,015 stocks advanced while 1,894 declined and 179 remained unchanged.

From the Sensex basket, ICICI Bank climbed nearly 5 per cent after the bank reported an 18.5 per cent growth in net profit for the March quarter to Rs 11,672 crore, helped by lower provisions.